Chris Valletta

Chris Valletta is the co-founder and general manager of Mission, a consumer products company known for instant-cooling textile technologies. He is also known for playing in the NFL for three seasons, appearing as a contestant on The Apprentice, appearing as an independent contributor on Fox News and other networks, and for writing the book, Team Works! The Gridiron Playbook for Building a Championship Business Team, with the foreword written by the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Chris Valletta
Alma materTexas A&M University and Harvard Business School (Executive Degree)
EmployerMission
Known forPlaying in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TelevisionThe Apprentice, Season 4. Independent contributor to Fox News and various networks.
Board member ofFormer Chairman, the Health and Wellness Committee for the NFL Alumni Organization (NY/NJ). Texas A&M Association of Former Students (Representative at Large). Advisor McFerrin Center for Entreprenruship.
Spouse(s)Liliana Gil Valletta
Websitewww.teamworksbook.com

Football career

High School and college

Born in New England, Valletta moved to Plano, Texas in the 1990s, where he attended Plano Senior High School and played football as an offensive lineman, and was on the Plano Senior Wildcats team that won the 5A State Championship in 1994.[1] At Plano, Chris was selected to the prestigious Parade All American Team in 1995.[2] Valletta played football as an offensive linesman at Texas A&M University from 1997 to 2000, where he received All-Conference honors.[3][4] During his time at A&M, he played on the teams that won the Big 12 South Championship in 1997 and the Big 12 Championship in 1998.[5] On November 18, 1999, the Aggie Bonfire, part of the pregame festivities between Texas A&M and the University of Texas collapsed during construction, killing 12 and injuring 27.[6] At the game, held the following Friday, Valletta wrote the names of the 12 students on a shirt beneath his jersey.[7] Valletta graduated in 2001, with degrees in majoring in speech communication and rhetorical theory, as well as political science. Chris completed the executive program in entrepreneurship from Harvard Business School in 2015. [8]

Professional

Valletta signed to the Tennessee Titans in 2001 as an undrafted free agent.[9][10] He was released in August of the same year, and signed to the New Orleans Saints, where he was released in August 2002.[11][12][13] He then joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing Offensive Guard and Center, until his release in October 2002.[14] Tampa Bay went on to win the Super Bowl that season, beating the Oakland Raiders 48–21 in Super Bowl XXXVII[15]

Professional career

KRLD and Big Tree Investments

Following his retirement from the NFL, Valletta worked in advertising sales at KRLD News Radio in Dallas, where he became the first rookie salesperson of the year in company history. [16][17] During this time, he started a real estate company called Big Tree Investments LLC.[18][19] [20]

Appearance on The Apprentice

In 2005, Valletta was selected for the cast of the fourth season of The Apprentice.[21] Following a ratings slide in the show's third season, Valletta was part of a cast that was personally selected by Donald Trump.[22] He was the second contestant fired from the show, after serving as the project manager for the losing team on a task that involved creating a 30-second television commercial and print ads for a new Lamborghini sports car.[23][24] He also appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.[25]

GoSMILE

Following his appearance on The Apprentice, Valletta was named the senior director for business development at GoSMILE Inc.[26] A company that markets tooth-whitening products, GoSMILE was co-founded by Josh Shaw, one of Valletta's fellow Apprentice contestants.[27] GoSMILE was later acquired by investment firm JH Partners.[28]

Mission

Valletta is the co-founder and general manager of Mission.[3] Founded in 2009, the company markets a line of instant cooling products for active consumers who work or play in the heat. The products are conceived, researched and developed by scientists, labor workers and athletes like Serena Williams, Dwayne Wade and Drew Brees, many of whom are also stakeholders in the company.[29][30] The company was named as the Sports Marketer of the Year for 2012 by readers of NYSportsJournalism.[30]

Affiliations

Valletta served as the chairman of the Health and Wellness Committee for the NFL Alumni Organization and currently serves as a representative at large for the Association of a Former Students at Texas A&M University and as an advisor to the McFerrin Center for Entreprenruship at Texas A&M. Valletta also serves on the board of directors for Young Life Ministries in New York City. (NY/NJ).[31]

Personal life

Valletta resides in New York City and is married to cultural intelligence and multicultural marketing expert Liliana Gil Valletta, founder of CIEN Plus. [32]

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References
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  2. http://www.ahsfhs.org/Articles/parade1.asp?year=1995
  3. Bock, Gabe (2012-05-08). "Aggie Flashback with Chris Valletta | TexAgs". V4.texags.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  4. "Chris Valletta | Startup Aggieland". Startupaggieland.tamu.edu. 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  5. "Texas A&M Conference Championships - Texas A&M Official Athletic Site". AggieAthletics.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  6. Cook, John Lee, Jr. "Bonfire Collapse" (PDF). U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  7. Rappoport, Ken (January 2013). Texas A&m Aggies - Ken Rappoport - Google Books. ISBN 9781617836572. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  8. Colloff, Pamela (1999-11-18). "Ring of Fire: Page 9 of 11". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  9. Published: April 26, 2001 (2001-04-26). "TRANSACTIONS - New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  10. "Titans help Thompson celebrate birthday". The Rochester Sentinel. August 20, 2001. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  11. "Titans | Roster Moves - NFL Hot off the Wire". Kffl.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  12. "Monday's Sports Transactions". McCook Daily Gazette. August 27, 2002. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  13. "NFL". CBSSports.com. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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  15. "Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Oakland Raiders - January 26th, 2003". Pro-Football-Reference.com. 2003-01-26. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
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  17. "DBJ Confidential - Dallas Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  18. "Big Tree Investments, Llc - Nevada Company Profile". NV Annual Report. Nevada. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  19. "Chris Valletta - The Apprentice 4 - Contestant Information - Reality TV World - News, information, episode summaries, message boards, chat and games for unscripted television programs". Reality TV World. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  20. "NBC reveals the identities of Donald Trump's 'The Apprentice 4' contestants". Reality TV World. 2005-08-31. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  21. "Cannon, Trump triumph on TV". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. September 6, 2005. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  22. "Artsandentertainment: Trump puts his stamp on 'Apprentice'". Sptimes.com. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
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  24. "chris valletta fired from the apprentice - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. 2005-10-06. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  25. "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Episode dated 14 December 2005". imdb. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
  26. Negus, Beth (2008-08-14). "Loyalty Lab News Stories > Tooth Serum: GoSmile". Instorecard.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  27. "Josh Shaw - The Apprentice 4 - Contestant Information - Reality TV World - News, information, episode summaries, message boards, chat and games for unscripted television programs". Reality TV World. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  28. "Go Smile Seeks Exposure With Expansion - Tags: GO Smile Inc. CORPORATIONS - Growth". Connection.ebscohost.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  29. Kinkhabwala, Aditi (2012-07-08). "Endorsing as a Way of Investing - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  30. Friday (2013-01-11). "NYSportsJournalism.com - Mission Athletecare Scores Big". Nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
  31. "Chris Valletta - The Booker Albert Literary Agency". Thebookeralbertagency.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  32. "Speaker Bios - 16th Annual Harvard Latino Law, Policy and Business Conference". Latinoconferenceatharvard.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
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